


Neighborly Concern

by Scribbling Mama (melgibson87)



Series: AU August 2018 [16]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU August, AU Yeah AUgust (Miraculous Ladybug), Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/M, Kagami nurses Luka back to health, Neighbors, New Neighbors, Romance, Sickly Neighbor, Slow Romance, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-06-28 10:19:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15705249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melgibson87/pseuds/Scribbling%20Mama
Summary: Kagami is new to the apartment building. Her first day seems promising enough as she begins unpacking her stuff with plans to enjoy a quiet night in. However, the neighbor behind her has other ideas, creating the weirdest noises and sending her to their door. She had every intention of putting a stop that awful noise, never dreaming what she'd find on the other side of their door. Walking in, she finds a slumped-over, highly ill Luka, who's stubborn in getting her out of the apartment and waiting for his sister to arrive. Kagami isn't going anywhere.





	1. Kagami's First Day

**Author's Note:**

> Day 16 of AU Yeah August. Neighbor AU.

 

Stepping out of the stairwell and into the corridor of her new apartment, Kagami set the final box of her belongings next to her, pulling out her keys. She smiled as her hand slid the key into the lock and rotated her wrist, hearing the sweet click of the lock moving within the handle. 

Home. 

She'd finally found her new home. 

She couldn't be more proud of the apartment, either, as she pushed the door open before reaching down to grab the box at her feet. Entering her new home felt like breathing fresh air as she gazed around at the furnished place, her boxes scattered here and there with the stuff she'd wanted with her. She'd send for the rest eventually, but she had enough to make due for the moment.

Plugging in her small radio, she turned to a station she liked and soon began unpacking, intent on finishing before turning in for the night. She had her plan all marked out, the path she'd take to complete everything in an orderly amount of time. She liked having plans and sticking to them, the routine helpful in maintaining control of her environment.

She had finished unpacking her first box in minutes, moving toward the second when a strange noise sounded beyond her wall. 

Frowning, she lowered the radio's volume and moved closer, trying to make out the sound she heard. 

It took a moment for it to reappear.

When it did, her frown deepened. 

"What is going on over there?" She huffed, doing her best to ignore her new neighbor and continue with her plans of unpacking.

That plan soon came to an end as the noise kept disturbing her every few minutes, each a little louder than the next. 

Quite put out and ready to stop whatever they were doing, she marched toward her door and headed toward the neighbor's place behind hers. As she stood on their doorstep, she could make out the noise a little clearer. 

"That's not someone knocking out a wall, is it?" she asked herself as she raised her hand to knock.

She paused, her knuckles a mere centimeter from the door itself when another round of that same noise came through. The person's hacking cough concerned her more than it should for a neighbor she'd yet to meet, a stranger she knew absolutely nothing about. 

She debated even getting involved.

She had no medical training and would no doubt be useless for the individual on the other side.

Taking a step back, she made to turn and head back to her apartment when she heard the thud of something heavy hitting a wall within.

Not considering her next move should she find danger, she grabbed the handle of their door and twisted, not sure if she should be relieved by finding it unlocked or not. This person might be expecting someone, she thought, someone who could easily hurt her if she didn't take some precautions.

Stepping into the small entryway, she glanced around, calling softly, "Hello. Anyone there? Are you all right?"

She took another step into the apartment, her gaze looking over her shoulder for any signs of possible danger before facing back into the interior of the home. Another step had her mouth thinning into a tight line as she took in the slumped form of a tall guy with blue-tipped brunet hair. She couldn't see his eyes, but at least he appeared to be breathing.

She inched closer, noting the uncomfortable angle he rested, his head slumped to his chest as though he'd passed out from whatever ailed him.

"Are you all right?" she asked again, coming closer and dropping to her knees beside him.

Bright blue eyes popped open a moment before another round of coughing ravaged him. In-between breaths and coughs, he finally managed to say, "I'll be fine. Just a cold."

He pulled himself onto the couch, his gaze never straying from her kneeling position on the floor. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"Kagami, your new neighbor. Your door's unlocked."

"Oh." He curled under the covers he'd wrapped around himself, his shaking still visible to her despite the layers. "You can go, Kagami. I'll be fine until my sister arrives. She lives down the hall."

Standing, Kagami took a look around, noting the messy state of his apartment. Her desire to leave ratcheted up another notch, moving toward the door. She paused when she heard the next round of coughs coming from him, threatening to spill him from his sofa once again. 

"When is your sister expected?"

He didn't answer until the coughing had subsided, his voice whisper-soft from the strain his throat had been enduring. "Around seven this evening."

She glanced down at her watch, her eyes widening. "That's over four hours from now. Are you sure you should be alone that long?"

"I'll be fine. Please leave." He might've sounded grumpy in a normal voice. With his strained throat, he almost sounded pleading, which softened Kagami's tough shell a little more than it probably should have.

She'd made up her mind. She was staying.

"Are you thirsty? Hungry? I'm not a gourmet cook, but I do well enough."


	2. Luka's Smitten

 

Being woken by a gentle yet insistent shaking wasn't something that Luka appreciated as he tried to burrow further into the covers he'd wrapped around himself. 

This blasted fever had come at the worst time, he acknowledged as he needed to prep for one of his biggest gigs of the year. 

Then, it'd brought a cough that made his lungs feel like they burned with each breath he took, causing another round of coughs that further rubbed at his already raw throat. 

"Jules, it's about time you got here," he groused as he worked to sit up. "Some strange woman barged into my apartment. I thought you locked my door before you left."

The harrumph from the woman lifting him wasn't something he'd ever heard from his sister, popping his eyes open in surprise and catching the light brown eyes narrowed at him. Those didn't belong to his sister, he realized with a start, recalling the woman from earlier. 

"This strange woman," she began, placing a tray on the table near his couch and continuing to glare at him, "made you some soup. It's a special Japanese dish that my family chef would make on the rare occasion I got sick."

His continued struggles to sit up didn't go unnoticed as he hoped, feeling delicate yet strong hands grasp him and haul him up. She'd gotten impossibly close to him as she pulled him higher on the couch, their eyes almost at the same level and allowing him a closer glimpse at the smattering of freckles dusting her cheeks. He couldn't quite stop staring at her as her brown eyes burned bright in his mind, almost assured to remain there long after she finally left his apartment and him. 

She worked to settle him a moment longer before clapping her hands together as if she'd performed the feat on a regular basis. She glanced to ensure he wouldn't fall over, picking up the tray once again and placing it in his covered lap.

"Eat," she softly commanded, taking a glance around his apartment for a moment. 

He knew he should probably be embarrassed at the mess, tissues littering his floor and dirty clothing from a few days ago wadded in a far corner. Normally a bit neater than this, he'd been desperate to get out of the grimy clothes when he'd first noticed the fever raging through his body. Covered with sweat and uncomfortable, he'd pulled them off and settled under the blankets he currently had wrapped around him.

A discreet glance under them promised he hadn't gotten completely naked and thereby embarrassed him with this cute woman standing nearby, her eyes assessing another moment.

"I'm Luka," he murmured as he took a spoonful of the soup she'd made and worked not to slurp it, only succeeding through sheer force of will. "What was your name again?"

She offered him a stiff smile as she moved back toward his kitchen. "Kagami. I live next door."

"You're new, right? You said that you just moved in?" He fought back another coughing spell, not at all successful as they wreaked havoc through his system and threatened to overturn the tray in his lap. 

Her quick movements saved the tray, much to his gratitude and his misery. He really didn't want to be cleaning soup out of his bedding when he just wanted to curl back up and sleep. 

She didn't answer him until the coughing passed, his body shaking under his blankets as a chill swept over him despite the layers. "Yes, I was unpacking when I heard you through the wall. I thought you might be demolishing a wall or something."

He chuckled despite his miserable state, perfectly picturing what his coughing probably sounded like on the other side. He grimaced as his laughter rubbed his vocal chords the wrong way, creating a scratching effect in his throat. He moaned a bit as he hoped his voice wouldn't be permanently damaged from this, not that he did much singing despite being a lead bassist in his band. 

"You should eat a bit more," she admonished, holding a spoonful of the soup she made to his lips. "You'll never get better if you don't eat."

He glanced at her, wondering why she'd stay when her body spoke of her uneasiness in his presence. In a quiet voice, he said, "You don't have to stay, you know? I do appreciate what you're doing, but seriously, I'll be fine until my sister gets here."

Light brown eyes met his blue ones as she stared at him, almost like she had the ability to read a person's mind. He sincerely hoped she couldn't as he found her far more appealing in his slightly alert state than he had any right to. 

"Eat, Luka," she commanded in a whisper, bringing the spoon a bit closer. "I'm not going anywhere until she gets here."

That surprised him as he felt her resistance to the idea even as she voiced it. He might be sick, but his ability to read a person's soul and the music playing within them hadn't been diminished in the slightest. Hers clearly told him she wanted to run as far as she could and never look back, but her sense of duty warred with that desire. He simply couldn't figure her out in his weakened state though he very much wanted to. 

"Fine," he murmured, sipping at the soup she offered. He continued to accept each spoonful until three-quarters had been consumed and he begged for mercy, his stomach too full from not getting enough the past few days. 

Closing his eyes but not succumbing to sleep yet, he heard her pick up the tray and walk back to his kitchen. She puttered around, cleaning up whatever mess she'd created to make him a soup he definitely wanted to learn for himself. He could make out the soft clinking of silverware and other noises as she washed the dishes and set them in his drying rack. 

He must've dozed off because he lost track of her until a cool hand shifted his overgrown locks and pressed against his burning forehead.

He moaned. Actually, moaned at her hand pressing against his flaming skin as he murmured, "Feels good."

A soft giggle caught his attention, peeking an eye open to find her squatting next to him with an almost fond grin dancing across her lips. 

He knew he should feel embarrassed, but frankly, it felt nice having someone take care of him, someone not his sister. 

Don't get him wrong he loved Juleka, but she didn't offer the same care as this stranger did, knowing he could handle some tough love from her more than most. He freely admitted to himself he would hate it when Kagami left and Juleka took over in a couple of hours. He'd just have to enjoy the time he had left with his new neighbor and hope she might consider seeing him again when he got over this ridiculous cold. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update 6/10/19: This story will be completed and is on my list to finish. Right now, I'm working on a schedule to make this happen for all my WIPs. I will update everyone in the near future the progress being made for this story and other WIPs here on AO3.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](http://scribblingmama.tumblr.com)


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